Individual autonomy has become an important value among parents of young children. Therefore, questions are raised as to whether baptism can occur later in life or perhaps be replaced by a rite of blessing the children . This chapter discusses the dilemma in light of secularization and with the help of a variety of ecumenical insights. Many people are inclined to ask what the role of folk churches will be when they lose their cultural and hegemonic religious status. More specifically, do these Nordic churches have the resources needed to face a scenario characterized by declining membership and decreasing support for baptism as one of the church's core practices? These are issues that are being discussed today in attempts to come to terms with the challenges that the Nordic folk churches are facing. Alternatively, the question can be phrased like this: how can we interpret our contemporary existence and capture the present through its existential and religious pulse? [1] The...
Bloggen er et artikkelarkiv som inneholder nærmere 80 fagartikler, kronikker, essayer, foredrag og kortere refleksjoner innen teologi, pentekostal spiritualitet, økumenikk og samlivsetikk. De er skrevet av teolog Terje Hegertun og er publisert skriftlig eller anvendt på annen måte. Ved eventuell gjengivelse, husk kildehenvisning og copyright.